Deputies: McKinleyville dad drives with daughter on roof

A family dispute Tuesday morning in McKinleyville ended with a domestic disturbance and minor injuries after a father drove around with his daughter holding onto the roof of the car, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office.

A sheriff's office deputy responded to the 1700 block of Edeline Avenue around 10:30 a.m., and upon arrival saw a 1982 blue Honda sedan turn onto Washington Avenue from Worth Avenue with a woman hanging onto the roof of the car, signaling for help, according to the sheriff's office press release. After a failed traffic stop, the deputy followed the car — with lights and sirens — for several blocks until it stopped in a driveway on Hayes Street in McKinleyville and the woman got off the roof.

The 24-year-old woman told the deputy the driver, her 63-year-old father, didn't want her 18-year-old sister to take the car to college so he decided to take it away by grabbing the keys and driving off, according to the release. The woman told the deputy she didn't think her father would drive away with her on the roof and sustained a minor injury while trying to get the keys back.

The father told the deputy he knew his daughter was on top of the car and that he didn't want his younger daughter to take the car to college, according to the release. The man said he stayed around 20 miles an hour because his daughter was on the roof and knew the deputy was following him but didn't want to stop on a busy street.

The deputy determined the man needed a mental health evaluation and he was taken to a local mental health facility, according to the release. The daughter is not pressing charges and wants the car to be returned to her sister, the legal owner.

The sheriff's office has asked anyone with information to call the office at 445-7251 or its crime tip line at 268-2539.